During a three-day visit with the Vietnamese Government in the run-up to COP27, German State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth agreed to expand cooperation in the areas of climate protection, biodiversity, employment and training. After several bilateral meetings that involved Vietnam´s Environmental Minister Trang Hong Ha and Vietnam´s Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, Flasbarth stated:

“Climate change has become the centerpiece of global justice. That is why climate policy is also a core issue of development policy. Vietnam has set itself the ambitious goal of climate neutrality by 2050 along with a rapid expansion of renewable energies, while asking for international support in return. Germany is therefore cooperating with the G7 partners and Vietnam on a new ‘Just Energy Transition Partnership’ that will support Vietnam in achieving a just and sustainable energy transition. I spoke with my Vietnamese partners about how German Development Policy can provide even more support in the energy sector in the future and how we can ensure that we also include the poorest in our plans. Ultimately, fair climate policy means pursuing ambitious goals and leaving no one behind.”

In addition to supporting the expansion of renewable energies, another focus of the cooperation will be climate change adaptation. In his talks, Flasbarth pointed to the long-standing track record of cooperation in the framework of the Strategic Partnership of both countries as well as the International Climate Initiative (IKI), and reaffirmed the willingness of the Government of Germany to continue supporting Vietnam’s efforts towards the ambitious targets.

While Jochen Flasbarth has been State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) since December 2021, he also used to be State Secretary in the German Environmental Ministry for almost a decade.